This is a Labor Day story of hope. At a time when our Florida politics are so often polarized, paralyzed along party lines, today we can celebrate an act of collaboration and understanding that will greatly benefit some of our state’s most deserving workers.
Due largely to the leadership of Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, the state Legislature passed a budget including funds to pay nursing home workers a minimum wage of $15 per hour, effective Oct. 1.
Simpson, a member of a GOP party that otherwise has been far less than friendly to working Floridians, especially organized union workers, took bold action to stand with caregivers and staff who play such an important societal role caring for our elderly loved ones. Sadly, so many of these dedicated workers have previously toiled for poverty-level wages, taking extra shifts, second jobs and more just to scrape by.
But thanks to Simpson and, of course, our steady Democrat and progressive champions in the Legislature and across our communities, these essential workers see a pathway out of poverty and won’t have to worry so desperately each week about paying their bills.
Jennifer Tribert, for example, has worked in the housekeeping/laundry department of a Hernando County nursing home for six years. She and her co-workers served in the facility on the front lines of the COVID-19 alongside nursing staff. And yet, she still does not make $15 per hour, nor does she receive medical insurance through her job. The mother of...
US President made 7 claims, all false: Iran warns of closing Hormuz amid naval blockade: File photo (Source: Xinhua/IANS) Tehran, April 18 (IANS) Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf...